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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Alexander Ward and Matt Berg | |  Today was President Joe Biden’s last day in Europe, and unquestionably left in a jubilant mood, citing agreements at the NATO summit and warm meetings in London and Helsinki. | Susan Walsh/AP Photo | With help from Daniel Lippman Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt BRUSSELS, Belgium — Your weary traveling host has finally had 24 hours to reflect on this week’s NATO summit (and gotten some sleep) which allowed two main takeaways to percolate in a spent brain. The first is that the NATO summit was mostly a win for the “unity” message being trumpeted by the alliance and the Biden administration. Ukraine inched closer to NATO membership with the removal of a bureaucratic hurdle and received long-term security guarantees from G-7 states, while Sweden appears set to join the bloc after Turkey dropped its opposition. Officials in the U.S. and other nations felt justified in calling the gathering in Lithuania one of the most consequential in the alliance’s modern history. The second takeaway is that how people assess the NATO summit’s outcomes seem mostly tied to what Ukraine wanted out of it –– which isn't the only way to look at it. Kyiv left Vilnius without its ultimate prize: imminent NATO membership. But that was simply not on the cards, not least because that outcome would effectively put allies at war with Russia over Ukraine. Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY blasted allies for the half measure instead of going all the way, leading to headlines like “Despite success at NATO summit, divisions remain.” That has left Biden administration officials and their allies fairly upset. In their views, judgments of the summit should be based on what it means for the alliance, not just Ukraine. “Sometimes we get lost in what Ukraine wants, and that’s the standard by which we measure a NATO summit,” said PHILIP REEKER, a former acting assistant secretary of state for Europe now at the Wilson Center think tank. “What is best for Ukraine and NATO membership in and of itself are two separate issues.” Plus, they complain privately that it should be more recognized how Zelenskyy makes maximalist demands, which by definition are hard for a 32-country organization to meet. These officials maintain NATO is stronger after Vilnius and Ukraine is closer to joining officially than ever. “Where’s all this negativity coming from?” a European official from a NATO country asked rhetorically. Those attitudes are reflected by some on the Hill. “NATO is driven by consensus, so everything is a compromise,” said a Democratic congressional staffer who wasn’t authorized to speak to the press. “No summit has ever delivered 100 percent of what every ally wants, so it’s expected it wouldn’t give what a partner wants, even in such an unprecedented moment in time.” Here are just two aspects multiple people pointed out. Two years ago, the alliance had what was called the NATO-Russia Council. But, today, it’s the NATO-Ukraine Council, which gives Zelenskyy the power to call meetings and more closely coordinate his nation’s efforts to accede as an ally. And NATO agreed to a new defense plan that is basically one of the largest shifts in the alliance’s posture since the Cold War. As Foreign Policy’s ROBBIE GRAMER and JACK DETSCH noted, about 300,000 troops will be ready to deploy to NATO’s eastern flank in case of attack, which would add to the eight multinational battlegroups in the region. Many of these upgrades may take years to finalize, however. Even after his outburst, Zelenskyy told reporters that he considered the two-day event a success. The assurances “will surely become a very important and specific success,” he affirmed. “We can state that the results of the summit are good.”
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Our mission is to prepare you for the future by engineering advanced capabilities today.
Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate independently. Through our 21st Century Security vision, Lockheed Martin is accelerating innovation, connecting defense and digital to enhance the performance of major platforms, to equip customers to stay ahead of emerging threats. Learn more. | | | | | BIDEN TRIP WRAP: Today was President JOE BIDEN’s last day in Europe, and unquestionably left in a jubilant mood, Alex and JONATHAN LEMIRE report, citing agreements at the NATO summit and warm meetings in London and Helsinki. But loose ends and persistent questions remain about the next steps in Europe’s largest land conflict since World War II. Biden made Helsinki a victory lap. “Putin has a real problem — how does he move from here? What does he do?” Biden asked at a brief trip-ending news conference. But the problem for Biden is that much of what comes next isn’t in his control either. Congress could scuttle a F-16 warplane transfer to Turkey that could make Ankara think twice about green lighting Sweden’s accession. What’s more, those long-term commitments to Ukraine — which Biden likens to America’s support for Israel — will require congressional lawmakers to commit to staying the course for years. Ukraine’s counteroffensive has sputtered, potentially making allies and senators reconsider their support. There are real worries about Ukraine’s arsenal, its reduced supply forcing the U.S. to make the controversial decision to send over cluster bombs. The whispers of doubt among Republicans back home have grown louder over continuing to fund Kyiv at current levels. On the sluggish start to the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Biden told reporters that even Zelenskyy acknowledged to him that it was “a hard slog.” And then there’s next year’s U.S. election, where former President DONALD TRUMP, the Republican frontrunner, could likely dismantle what Biden helped build within months of returning to the Oval Office. ROUNDING UP RUSSIAN LEADERS: Several top Russian military officers were detained by Moscow’s security services hours into Wagner chief YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN’s rebellion last month, the Wall Street Journal’s THOMAS GROVE reports. Among those detained for questioning were Gen. SERGEI SUROVIKIN, the officer suspected of being knowledgeable of and sympathetic to Prigozhin’s plot, and at least 13 senior officers, people familiar with the situation told the Journal. More than a dozen others were suspended or fired from duty, and Surovikin is currently being held and interrogated in Moscow but hasn’t been charged with a crime. “The detentions are about cleaning the ranks of those who are believed can’t be trusted anymore,” one of the people told the Journal. Maj. Gen. IVAN POPOV, another prominent official in charge of Russian soldiers fighting in southern Ukraine, was dismissed after speaking out about problems faced by his troops, the Associated Press reports. “The Ukrainian military has failed to break through our army’s defenses, but the top commander hit us in the rear, treacherously and cowardly beheading the army at this most difficult moment,” Popov told his troops Wednesday night. BLINKEN MEETS CHINESE COUNTERPART: Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN and top Chinese diplomat WANG YI met on the sidelines of a diplomatic gathering in Jakarta today where they had “candid and constructive discussions” on a range of issues, according to a State Department readout. Blinken “used the meeting to advance U.S. interests and values, to directly raise concerns shared by the United States and allies and partners regarding PRC actions,” State said, possibly referring to a recent government email breach by Chinese-linked hackers. While military-to-military communications between the adversaries haven’t notably improved since the Chinese spy balloon floated across the continental U.S. in February, Blinken’s meeting with the diplomat — coming after his trip to Beijing last month and Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN’s earlier this month — signals that other avenues of communication remain open, if occasionally fraught. IT’S THURSDAY: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily. This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at award@politico.com and mberg@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter at @alexbward and @mattberg33. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @PhelimKine, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco, @reporterjoe and @JGedeon1. And while you’re here, pre-order Alex’s book titled “The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore American Foreign Policy after Trump.”
| | | |   | | | | | REJECT HUMANITARIAN AID: In former Vice President MIKE PENCE’s eyes, Europe should be left to provide Ukraine with humanitarian aid while Washington focuses on sending weapons and ammunition to support its war efforts. “We could make our dollars more effective by rejecting Mr. Biden’s request for more humanitarian aid for Ukraine, which European nations are more than capable of providing,” Pence wrote in the WSJ Wednesday evening. “The U.S. should make giving Ukraine the weapons it needs to win its priority.” The European Commission reports that it has delivered more than $800 million in humanitarian assistance to people affected by the war in Ukraine since it began in February 2022. That view aligns with several fellow GOP presidential candidates including NIKKI HALEY and Sen. TIM SCOTT while sharply contrasting with DONALD TRUMP and RON DeSANTIS, who oppose further U.S. intervention in the war. It’s also a divisive issue among conservative lawmakers, likely to play a central role as the election cycle ramps up amid Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive.
| | NEW PLAN: The White House dropped its long-awaited National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan plan this morning. Lucky for us, our friends at Morning Cybersecurity (for Pros!) sifted through the 57-page document for the takeaways so we wouldn’t have to: Need for speed: To increase the speed and scale of intelligence sharing and victim notification, the White House says the National Security Council will take the lead in a policymaking process for Sector Risk Management Agencies to determine what kind of intelligence is crucial for their respective sectors. They've set a goal to complete this plan by the first quarter of fiscal year 2025. The A-team: The FBI and CISA will be responsible for co-chairing the Joint Ransomware Task Force, which carries out disruptive operations targeting the ransomware ecosystem. That includes going after cryptocurrency exchanges and mixers that help launder ransomware profits and web forums that provide support for ransomware activities. That’s set to be completed by the first quarter of next year. International cyberspace: The State Department is tasked with releasing an International Cyberspace and Digital Policy Strategy by the first quarter of next year that takes into account global and allied cybersecurity policies. The department will also start training its staff in cyberspace and digital policy so employees can be used to establish and reinforce interagency cyber teams for other countries and wider regions.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Our mission is to prepare you for the future by engineering advanced capabilities today.
Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate independently. Through our 21st Century Security vision, Lockheed Martin is accelerating innovation, connecting defense and digital to enhance the performance of major platforms, to equip customers to stay ahead of emerging threats. Learn more. | | | | | ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ TRAINING: The largest exercise in the history of Air Mobility Command is underway featuring 70 aircraft and more than 3,000 troops from seven nations, NBC News’ COURTNEY KUBE reports. Mobility Guardian, as the exercise is called, involves two weeks of drills in the Pacific — you know, the region where China is. The whole thing is “unprecedented” in its size and scope, said U.S. Air Force Capt. BRENDEN “BIGGIE” SMALL told Kube. The head of the command, Gen. MIKE MINIHAN, is the same guy who sent the memo earlier this year predicting that war with China could come within two years. He’s standing by the document. “I don’t believe conflict is inevitable. I don’t believe it’s unavoidable,” he said. “But I also believe that ready now is what matters most. So ready now is the foundation of deterrence. And ready now is also the foundation of decisive victory.” “I’m not trying to be provocative. I’m not trying to be coy,” he continued. “I’m trying to provide my formation with the tools and the action and the priority necessary to win.”
| | ‘TOTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE’: Biden has settled on a strategy for dealing with the Alabama senator who is causing chaos among the highest levels at the Pentagon: Leave it to Republicans to fix the mess, our own JOE GOULD and LARA SELIGMAN report. Republican Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE is single-handedly blocking more than 270 military promotions over the Pentagon’s policy of paying for service members to travel to seek abortions. The months-long hold has already left the Marine Corps without a Senate-confirmed leader for the first time in 100 years. The top jobs for the Army, Navy and the Joint Chiefs will be in a similar position in a matter of weeks if the issue is not resolved. Biden weighed in on the controversy on Thursday, calling Tuberville’s actions “totally irresponsible” and the confusion surrounding the Joint Chiefs “bizarre.” But the onus is on Republicans to end the standoff, he added. “I would be willing to talk to him if I thought there was any chance of him changing this ridiculous position. I expect the Republican party to stand up and do something about it. It's within their power to do that,” Biden told reporters in Helsinki. “It's totally irresponsible in my view,” Biden said. “I just think that — I mean, I'm confident that the mainstream of the Republican Party no longer — does not support what he's doing, but they got to stand up and be counted. That's how it ends.” Tuberville spoke with Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN today, Yellowhammer News’ GRAYSON EVERETT reports: “Coach said he’s grateful for the cordial and productive conversation and looks forward to continuing dialogue in the near future.” JEAPORDOD: Make sure you watch this clip of Rep. KATIE PORTER (D-Calif.) grilling defense contractors on the defense budget. Her answer board included categories such as “waste,” “missing guardrails” and “enablers” (no “potent potables,” however). Amazingly enough, the contractors played along, letting Porter ask them during a congressional hearing today. It’s worth the nearly five-minute watch.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | STATE ACTING MALLEY-CIOUSLY: Republicans are bothered by the Biden administration’s unwillingness to share info about what led to a leave of absence and an FBI investigation of America’s top Iran envoy, our own BETSY WOODRUFF SWAN and NAHAL TOOSI report. ROB MALLEY, who helped craft the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, was put on unpaid leave last month pending a review of his security clearance. Beyond that, details get murky, and the conflict is straining the administration’s relationships with Republicans lawmakers at a time when Biden’s team is seeking a new way to impose restraints on Iran’s nuclear program. “You would think the administration would proactively inform Congress that the person in charge of this doesn’t have the clearances to do their job, and that never happened,” said Sen. MARCO RUBIO of Florida, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee. “It’s not good.” A group of 15 Republican senators are calling on the State Department’s inspector general to investigate the suspension of Malley’s clearance.
| | — STERLIN WATERS is now special assistant to the deputy national cyber director. He most recently was a research assistant for the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. — BILL MONAHAN will be senior director of policy at Foreign Policy for America. He previously was counsel and policy director for foreign policy and national security for Senate Armed Services Committee Dems. — KEVIN MEEHAN, former Senate affairs director at the Office of the Secretary of Defense, has joined RTX as senior director for Navy global public policy. — LANCE WHITFILL, former Air Force deputy director for congressional budget and appropriations liaison, has joined RTX as senior director for Air Force global public policy. — WestExec announced two new hires: Retired Rear Adm. LORIN SELBY as a principal and ERIC GREEN as a senior adviser. Selby was last the chief of naval research and Green served the senior director for Russia and Central Asia on the NSC.
| | — KATIA GLOD, Foreign Policy: The perils of hosting Prigozhin in Belarus — ROGER ZAKHEIM, National Review: Biden repeats Carter’s mistakes amid China’s Cuba presence — Editorial Board, The Wall Street Journal: Canada is a military free-rider In NATO
| | — Washington Technology, 8:35 a.m.: Doing business with the Department of Veterans Affairs House Judiciary Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee, 9:15 a.m.: Fixing FISA, part II — U.S. Institute of Peace, 10 a.m.: The evolution of peacekeeper training: new approaches for the complexity of modern peacekeeping missions Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who always gives us more negative reviews than we deserve. We also thank our producer, Gregory Svirnovskiy, who is certified fresh all day, every day.
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